Every Fashionista's Dream: A Boutique On Wheels

Imagine running a boutique out of a pretty pink truck. Mexicanas Stacey Steffe and Jeanine Romo did just that when they teamed up in 2011 to create Los Angeles' first mobile boutique. Today, the savvy Latina entrepreneurs bring style to the bustling streets of Cali on a weekly basis. It's so successful that Le Fashion truck has led the way for similar mobile boutiques popping up all over America! CFL got a chance to chat with co-founder Stacey on the negocio's successes, expansion ideas and efforts to give back to the Latino community.

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We met in 2009 at an event that we were vending at. Jeanine was making jewelry when I met her. She had a handmade jewelry line, while I was selling vintage handbags and some clothing. We stayed in contact with each other and shared a booth space. One day, during the summer of 2010 I was a vendor at a local farmer's market. A gourmet food truck game around and it was decorated all fun and bright. All of these hipster kids were in this huge line. It took hours just to get a fusion taco. The whole thing was so fun to me and it got me thinking. At the time, I was going to all of these [vendor] festivals and I was trying to find a way to streamline my efforts. I told Jeanine that I wanted to make a store on wheels…that it would be my booth at these events. She said, "Oh my god, I love it, let's do this together!" That's where the idea for the truck came about. Jeanine has a degree in fashion design and I have the degree in marketing so we complement each other really well.

What is the most challenging part of maintaining the business?

It's funny, but the hardest part is being mobile. It's tough work because you have to be in the know of what's going on around you. You have to book those events in advance. Some events you think are going to be amazing, but then they aren't. You spend a lot of vendor's fees. Even though we don't have to pay rent, we spend a couple thousand dollars toward these fees. We also face really strict municipal codes in Los Angeles. We're not allowed at certain events in town because the codes are grey, so that's kind of hindering. That's something that we hear happens with a lot of retail trucks in the area.

We used to do a lot of flea markets. However, now we focus on doing events like beauty expos, private parties and the Santa Monica Festival. We do a lot of block parties during summer time and art walks. We also go to areas that we've been to before. That's when your customer service comes into play and loyal customers can find us. Every week we post where we'll be on Twitter, Facebook and the website. An alert newsletter of our location is also sent out to customers who sign up for it, so we have a lot of repeats that way.

In what direction do you see the business headed? Will Le Fashion Truck expand to the east coast?

Since we opened, we always wanted to have a fleet of Le Fashion Trucks. We've thought about opening trucks in certain areas. We've also talked about pop-up shops. As for the east coast, I don't know, it's so different. The one thing I hear about the east coast [truckers] is that they are only in business 6 months during the year because of the weather. However, we're cruising in 75 degree weather all year long. Right now we're thinking about opening a men's Le Fashion Truck. We have this amazing demand from men who come in all the time and love the styles that we carry for women.

What kind of impact has the business had on the Latino community? Are the designers you carry Latino?

I know Latinas who have gone into this business and say, "I saw your truck and I thought, 'I could do that!'" They start a home business and that turns into a truck, so we get to see how we're inspiring people. We've also done fundraisers in Latino high schools and been tied to their fashion or business clubs. I think that it's had a positive influence on the community. There's this girl who started the Abigail Barraza Foundation and she holds these fundraisers to raise money for Latina women who have faced breast cancer, so we've recently teamed up with her. Right now, we're helping out a 23 year old mom who has breast cancer. At the fundraiser, we bring Le Fashion Truck to raise money and half of the proceeds go to the foundation. It has always been about how we can give back to the community.

Besides the accessibility of your store because it's mobile, what are the advantages of shopping at Le Fashion Truck vs. online or in-store shopping?

I think that you get good savings because we can keep our prices down since we're mobile. Le Fashion Truck carries designs that you wouldn't find at the mall because we work with emerging designers. About 5 of our designers are based in Los Angeles. With a variety of handmade jewelry, undergarments and dresses, you're going to come in and find styles you haven't seen online or at the mall.